President Muhammadu Buhari Commissions Dangote Refinery Today: Key Facts About The Refinery

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Project, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited owned by Aliko Dangote, is expected to be commissioned today, Monday.

The commissioning ceremony of the project will be graced by the presence of President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who will have the honor of officially inaugurating the project.

The refinery is situated at Dangote Industries Free Zone, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. It is strategically designed to process crude oil grades sourced from Africa, Asia, and America and its pipeline infrastructure is said to be the largest in the world with 1,100 kilometres which will handle 3 billion standard cubic foot of gas per day.

With a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the refinery efficiently converts crude oil into a diverse range of petroleum products including diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, and kerosene.

Five African presidents expected at the commissioning ceremony
The commissioning of the Dangote Refinery is set to be attended by a minimum of five African presidents, including President Buhari, other Presidents expected include the President of Togo, Gnassingbé Eyadéma; the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo; the President of Senegal Macky Sall; the President of Niger Republic, Mohamed Bazoum; and the President of Chad, Mahamat Déby. However, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, will deliver a goodwill message virtually. Others expected includes, the President-elect, Bola Tinubu and other dignitaries across the nation.

READ ALSO: The Future Smart City Ibeju Lekki 2030, The Ultimate Luxury Investment Opportunity In Property.

Key Facts About Dangote Refinery;

• It is located in Ibeju-Lekki Lagos, covering a land area of approximately 2,635 hectares.
• The refinery includes a 435MW power plant, capable of fulfilling the entire power demand of Ibadan DisCo, which serves five states.
• The Dangote Oil Refinery, Africa’s largest oil refinery project, is anticipated to achieve a daily production capacity of 650,000 barrels (BPD). This remarkable integrated facility holds the distinction of being the world’s largest single-train refinery.
• When operating at maximum capacity, the refinery can satisfy the entire domestic demand for refined products in Nigeria while also generating an additional surplus for export.
• The refinery is designed to fulfill the entire Nigerian demand for refined products and even generate a surplus for export. It is specifically engineered to process Nigerian crude oil while also having the capability to handle other types of crude oil.
• Diesel , Gasoline and aviation fuel from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications.
• The marine facility is self-sufficient and optimized for efficient freight operations. It holds the distinction of being the largest single order of 5 SPMs (Single Point Mooring Systems) worldwide.
• It Integrates state-of-the-art technology.
• Approximately 65 million cubic meters of sand were dredged, with a cost estimate of around 300 million Euros. This massive operation utilized the world’s largest, second largest, and tenth largest dredgers to raise the height by 1.5 meters, providing protection against potential impacts of rising sea levels caused by global warming.
• Dangote Group bought 332 cranes to build up equipment installation capacity.
• The design of the refinery enables the processing of a wide range of crude oils, encompassing various African crudes, select Middle Eastern crudes, and the US Light Tight Oil.
• To bolster local capacity for site works, more than 1,200 units of diverse equipment were acquired.
• Built the world’s largest granite quarry to supply coarse aggregate, stone column material, stone base, stone dust & material for break water (10 million tonnes per year production capacity).
• To facilitate the transportation of oversized cargoes in close proximity to the site, the Dangote Group undertook the development of a dedicated port. As part of this initiative, two quays were constructed with an impressive load-bearing capacity of 25 tonnes per square meter.
• Two additional quays were built within the port to accommodate Panamax vessels for the export of fertilizers and petrochemicals, while two other quays were designated for liquid cargoes. With these additions, the port will feature a total of six quays, including a dedicated Roll-on/Roll-off quay.
• During the civil works phase, drilling of approximately 700 piles per day was achieved, resulting in a total of 250,000 piles being installed.
• Dangote is one of the few companies in the world executing a Petroleum Refinery and a Petrochemical complex directly as an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Contractor.
• A total of 900 young engineers were trained abroad in refinery operations. Additionally, six mechanical engineers underwent training at the GE University in Italy. Honeywell/UOP provided training for 50 process engineers over a period of six months. Moreover, 50 management trainees were selected, and secondment was implemented for succession planning purposes.
• It has 177 tanks of 4.742 billion litres capacity
• The project involved the collaboration of numerous local and international suppliers, as well as the coordination of multicultural work teams.
• The United States Trade and Development Agency provided a training grant worth N251.3 billion ($0.997 million) to support the development of skilled human resources for operating the refinery.
• The project is projected to create 4,000 direct jobs and an additional 145,000 indirect jobs.